Residents challenge Mt. Prospect plan

Mount Prospect residents told the village board Tuesday the Mount Prospect Town Center development proposed for the village's downtown would be too dense and too much like Arlington Heights.

Residents packed the village board meeting also to complain about parking and ask whether the condos could actually sell.

Northbrook developer John D. Heimbaugh, president and founder of Heimbaugh Capital Development Corp., proposed the $40 million development, which largely consists of two seven-story buildings and one five-story building on the 2-acre site.

Mount Prospect resident Gloria Flores, who lives near the downtown project, says she already has trouble getting in and out of her condominium building because delivery trucks block her entranceway, so the new development would only exacerbate her problems.

"We are going to have problems there," Flores said. "There is no doubt about it,"

Another resident, Linda Thill, asked the board about whether they thought the condos would sell considering the depressed market.

"I am concerned about where you'd find buyers for these condos," said Thill, who added she had been trying to sell her Mount Prospect condo for three years with no luck.

Other residents didn't like the height of the proposal's buildings, saying they did not fit in with the character of Mount Prospect.

"Our village is not Arlington Heights," Mary Simon said. "We are not a high-rise village. We should stay a quaint little town and not copy Arlington Heights."

The triangle is bounded by Northwest Highway, Route 83 and Wille Street. The development would offer about 100 condominiums and between 30,000 and 40,000 square feet of retail and restaurant space.

The board will continue to discuss the project at a later date, village officials said.